8-year-old girl pulls pre-Viking-era sword from lake in Sweden

An 8-year-old girl in Sweden was skipping rocks on a lake near her family’s summer home one day when she made an astonishing discovery over 1,000 years in the making.

Peering into the low waters of the lake, the young girl Saga Vanecek saw what she thought was a stick, and she dipped her hand in and pulled it out.

It wasn’t a stick, though.

“I picked it up and was going to drop it back in the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a little bit pointy at the end and all rusty,” Saga explained. “I held it up in the air and I said ‘Daddy, I found a sword!’ When he saw that it bent and was rusty, he came running up and took it.”

The sword is believed to be approximately 1,000 to 1,500 years old, dating back to the pre-Viking era, according to the Jönköpings Läns Museum, where the artifact will eventually be displayed.

The sword is 2.75 feet in length, and it is believed that the sword’s leather and wood casing are what helped to preserve it for so long.

After the discovery was made, the museum conducted a sweep of the area in search of more artifacts, and they found a broach from around the same era as the sword. Mikael Nordström from the museum speculated on the find:

Why it has come to be there, we don’t know. When we searched a couple of weeks ago, we found another prehistoric object; a brooch from around the same period as the sword, so that means—we don’t know yet—but perhaps it’s a place of sacrifice.

Nordström added, “It’s not every day that one steps on a sword in the lake!”

Saga and her family had moved to Sweden from Minnesota in 2017. Her father Andy pointed out a rather interesting coincidence,”The cool thing is that I’m a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, and this looks just like a Viking sword!”

The Jönköpings Läns had kept Saga’s discovery under wraps for months, so as to conduct their search uninterrupted. When it was finally was announced, though, a lively discussion emerged on social media, pondering if this meant that Saga would become Queen of Sweden. And, in good humor, the proposition was refuted.

look I know what you’re all thinking, but as a wiser person than me once said: strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. https://t.co/Yvtr3pKdmF

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.More infomationI accept×